From hero to bad guy! Why Michael Keaton will be the best Spider-Man villain yet

We finally caught a glimpse of Michael Keaton in action as the Vulture in the latest Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer and he is looking awesome. Here's why we think Michael Keaton is going to be an amazing bad guy – and not only that but the best villain in the superhero franchise so far.

He was Batman!

There have been many different Batmen, including our current Batfleck, but Michael Keaton was one of the first. After Adam West in the 60s, Michael Keaton was Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). We have a Hollywood superhero movie out every few months nowadays, but back in the 80s comic book superheroes were a little rarer, so Keaton is truly of the pioneers of the genre.

Having previously been the hero, Keaton now switches sides to play the Vulture and given his years of experience in the comic book field, he's well positioned to bring all sorts of memorable personality traits to this classic baddie.

He was also Beetlejuice!

In Tim Burton's wacky comedy-horror, made in the year prior to Batman, Keaton plays the infamous Beetlejuice, an mischievous exorcist who causes mayhem for everyone he meets after he has been summoned by a ghostly couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) to scare away new tenants of a home.

Keaton is hilarious in the role and genuinely deranged, in a way that makes us anticipate how crazed he will be in his Vulture role. Will Homecoming allow him to uncork that much-loved anarchic spirit? We can only hope so.

Keaton has also played an actor who's played a superhero! (Stick with us)

The similarities between the actual Michael Keaton and his character Riggan Thomson in the Oscar-winning Birdman are almost uncanny. Thomson is an actor who famously portrayed the titular hero in a series of movies and who now wants to be taken seriously as an actor. He appears in a Broadway show but the Birdman keeps appearing around him, a reminder of the past and also about how important it is to let the past go.

Birdman won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2015 and Keaton's performance is superb, clearly drawing on his own experiences of portraying a famous on-screen hero. This A-lister has covered pretty much every angle there is when it comes to superhero characters, bringing to life both straightforward portrayals and also meta-commentaries on the price of fame, a sure sign that he has the dynamic acting chops to make Vulture a truly memorable villain.

He's an acting legend!

From Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing and Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown to, more recently, the Academy Award-winning Spotlight and of course, Toy Story 3 as the voice of Ken, Michael Keaton has covered an extraordinary range of characters and movies. So we imagine playing a mastermind villain will come naturally to this esteemed actor.

He has been nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe, but his greatness is surely measured by the diverse range of roles he's taken on. This is the big reason why we're so excited to see him bring the Vulture to the big screen.

What's your favourite Michael Keaton film, and why do you think he will be great as Vulture? Send us your thoughts @Cineworld. Spider-Man: Homecoming is released on 7th July 2017.

Nadine Shambrook is a writer who blogs for Cineworld as part of our news team.